Muruse Yefter
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| Image:Olympic-rings.png | ||
| Gold medal | 1980 Moscow | Athletics Men's 5,000m |
| Gold medal | 1980 Moscow | Athletics Men's 10,000m |
| Bronze medal | 1972 Munich | Athletics Men's 10,000m |
Muruse Yefter (born January 1, 1938 or May 15, 1944) is a former Ethiopian athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics. His name is also sometimes spelled as Miruts Yifter.
Born in Adigrat, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, Muruse Yefter spent early parts of his youth working in different factories and as a carriage driver. His talent as a long-distance runner was noticed when he joined the Ethiopian Air Force.
Yefter was called to the Ethiopian national team for the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, but he made his Olympic debut four years later in Munich Olympics where he won a bronze medal in 10,000 m. However, he arrived too late for the 5000 m final.
He was unable to participate in the 1976 Summer Olympics because his nation boycotted the event. Four years later in Moscow, Yefter made up for his disappointments. In the final of the 10,000 m he sprinted into the lead 300 m from the finish and won by ten meters. Five days later, in the 5000 m final, Yefter was boxed in during the last lap. But with 300 m to go, his Ethiopian teammate, Mohammed Kedir, stepped aside and Yefter again sprinted to victory. Due to his abrupt change in speed when executing his kick to the finish, Yefter is commonly referred to as "Yifter the Shifter."
At the Moscow Olympics, part of the mystery surrounding Muruse Yefter was the question of his age, which was reported to be between 33 and 42. Yifter refused to give a definitive answer, telling reporters:
- Men may steal my chickens; men may steal my sheep. But no man can steal my age.
The most common versions about his date of birth are January 1, 1938 or May 15, 1944.
| Olympic medalists in athletics (men) | Olympic Champions in Men's 5000 m |
|
Hannes Kolehmainen | Joseph Guillemot | Paavo Nurmi | Ville Ritola | Lauri Lehtinen | Gunnar Höckert | Gaston Reiff | Emil Zátopek | Vladimir Kuts | Murray Halberg | Bob Schul | Mohammed Gammoudi | Lasse Virén (twice) | Muruse Yefter | Saïd Aouita | John Ngugi | Dieter Baumann | Vénuste Niyongabo | Millon Wolde | Hicham El Guerrouj |
| Olympic medalists in athletics (men) | Olympic Champions in Men's 5 miles and 10000 m |
| As five miles: Henry Hawtrey | Emil Voigt |
| As 10,000 metres: Hannes Kolehmainen | Paavo Nurmi (twice) | Ville Ritola | Janusz Kusociński | Ilmari Salminen | Emil Zátopek (twice) | Vladimir Kuts | Pyotr Bolotnikov | Billy Mills | Naftali Temu | Lasse Virén (twice) | Muruse Yefter | Alberto Cova | Brahim Boutayeb | Khalid Skah | Haile Gebrselassie (twice) | Kenenisa Bekele |